Majority voted yes at referendum, Greek FM says

The majority of Macedonian voters said yes to the Prespa agreement which resolves the dispute over the name of that former Yugoslav republic, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias told the Greek public broadcaster ERT TV.

Kotzias said the yes votes cast in the referendum do represent the majority despite the low turnout because Macedonia does not have the 1.8 million voters entered into its electoral rolls but just 1.2 million since 300,000 people have left the country since the voter lists were last updated 20 years ago, the Russian Sputnik agency reported on its Serbian-language portal.

He said that Sunday’s referendum was consultative and not a condition to implement the Prespa agreement which Prime Ministers Zoran Zaev and Alexis Tsipras reached to resolve the dispute over the name Macedonia.

Kotzias warned that Macedonia could break apart in case of instability which he said would be the worst possible scenario, adding that official Athens will cooperate with Skoplje to stabilise the country because it does not want to see it destroyed. The foreign minister said he sees this cooperation as the best policy for the future of the Balkans.